Become a self employed stager, and become independent without working at home. Being self employed doesn’t necessarily mean earning through work at home jobs, and even home-based businesses may not come with home-based working hours. Home stagers and apartment stagers are very in-demand in some areas, giving professionals the opportunity to turn self employment ideas into reality.
What is Staging?
Okay, so what is staging? Understanding a career is the first step toward achieving it, and staging is one concept that’s not too difficult to comprehend. Often hired by real estate agents, stagers turn empty spaces into beautiful ones. Find out what it takes to become a self employed stager:
- Work with real estate agents to decorate apartments and homes for open house events, where potential buyers will come through the available space to make judgments.
- Coordinate with rental companies (and the realtor) to have furniture, rugs, curtains and other design elements brought into the empty rooms. Make rooms look livable, lived-in and wholly inviting.
- Schedule set-up and take-away times. Homes and apartments must be fully staged and ready prior to the open house; once the event is over, all design elements must be removed again.
- Add small, homey touches to make for-rent and for-sale properties even more attractive. Include scented candles, magazines, coffer mugs and other small details into the décor to add a personalized look and feel.
Staging requires great organizational skills and a strong sense of design. It’s essential to create somewhat neutral looks which are appealing to the masses. The goal of staging is to sell (or rent) available properties. If this goal is completed, realtors are happy. When realtors are happy, stagers get called again and again to perform - and, to get paid for their efforts. Sometimes, doing the job isn’t the hardest part…getting started is.
Forge contacts with realtors to get started with staging. Stagers and realtors go together like peanut butter and jelly…if peanut butter was heavily dependent upon jelly. Without realtors, home and apartment stagers will have very little to actually stage. Print business cards, establish rates (per room, per day) and start visiting realty offices. Place ads in online and print publications, and start networking through friends, family and preexisting business contacts.
Stagers must also create strong contacts with rental companies. Having a source of fine furnishings and home décor is essential in successfully staging to become self employed.
KC Morgan - KC Morgan has been the featured writer in Self-Employment since 2006, using personal experience to create guides to being self-employed.
Join the Conversation